Plug and socket suggestion needed

I read in sci.electronics.design that Chris W wrote (in ) about 'Plug and socket suggestion needed', on Fri, 8 Apr 2005:

IEC 60320 panel outlet and free plug. Newark should have them, but I find their web site very unfriendly. The Farnell part numbers are 360430 and 360454.

Perhaps using a large ground pin type plug / socket combo would be good, or if they exist, a larger pin 2 pin plug socket combo.

Paul

On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 16:05:32 -0500, Chris W wroth:

RJ-45 sockets are available in panel mount versions and cheaply too. I doubt plugging an ethernet cable into something with 120 volts applied would start a fire.

Jim

would

So plug 120VAC into your LAN card and see what happens.

Ken

RJ45 style plugs are certianly NOT safe for 120 volt applications.

This power cable, is it like those lamp cords with the inline power switch? What about a Molex connector?

If I read your post correctly, you do _not_ want to put the plug end on the cord and the socket side on the box. You want it the other way around: pins on the load side, sockets on the hot side.

Let me see if I can explain it better. The control box has a time delay relay that stooped working a few weeks ago. While I was getting that replaced, I wired a SPST switch in parallel with the relay contact and did the time delay manually, so I could still use the system till the relay was replaced. Now I want to remove that switch but still keep it around so if the relay goes bad again I can just plug it in and go. The switch has to be on the end of about a 6 foot cable to make the system usable. So I want to cut the wire at the box put a socket in the box and a plug on the wire with the switch.

Keyed AC socket and plug? Pins on the plug I'm talking about are flat but slightly curved, and laid out in a circular pattern. Can't remember what they're called. Plug in and twist. Locked! A bonus is that the socket is so wierd that anyone who tries to jam a standard plug into it *deserves* whatever bad things happen to him/her.

I understand. I don't know what's giving you trouble try Molex/Waldom, Amp CPC, Conxall, Amp Mate-N-Lok. Are you searching their web catalogs or hard copy? Web catalogs are next to useless for "I'll know it when I see it" searches.

Sounds like one of those funky plugs that Hubbell makes. You can get those from Grainger, Allied or probably any good electrical supply house serves comercial or industrial customers. Might be more than the guy wants to spend, though.

Same thing I thought of (because I used one for a switch on a break-it-down-easily system).

How much current does the switch have to handle? If it's just a few amps, you might put an inline fuse in the cord to the switch. If anybody plugs it into the wall and flips the switch, the fuse probably blows before the breaker.

You could use the type of connector that is on computer power cords. Something like a Digi-Key Q223-ND ($1) on the control box, and a Q216-ND ($7) on the end of the switch cord.

You could go for the old-time look with a Jones connector. Mouser

Matt Roberds

There are some slightly more oddball connectors available easily (say, from Home Despot in the US/Canada) including 120V twist-lock connectors. Very cheap, IIRC, though not as cheap as domestic blade plugs/sockets. XLR connectors are probably rated for the voltage, but I don't haven't looked at the safety aspect of the females, and somebody could plug a microphone into his box. ;-)

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

XLR are available with a 240V rated 3-pin or more arrangement:

Electrical Ratings: Current per contac t 3 pole, 16 A 4 pole, 10 A 5 pole, 7·5 A Rated voltage 250 V a.c. Test voltage 1500 V a.c. Contact resistance £ 3 mO Insulation resistance ³ 109O

These are Neutrik (Swiss) but I also seem to recall that Cannon did make a specific 240V 2 pin plus earth XLR connector and socket, but I don't see it on the RS catalogue now. We have a couple of bits of old kit in the workshop fitted with these. The body insert moulding was Red and the pins were mechanically shielded IIRC.

I'll have a look in some old Newark catalogues.

Peter

I read in sci.electronics.design that Peter A Forbes wrote (in ) about 'Plug and socket suggestion needed', on Sat, 9 Apr 2005:

They are NOT rated as mains connectors DO NOT USE XLRs for mains!

It (the XLR-LNE) doesn't meet current safety requirements.

The IEC 60320 outlet socket and cable-mounting plug are made specifically for what the OP wants to do, and meet all known safety requirements. Why search for inferior, maybe dangerous, substitutes?

I wasn't, I was just pointing out what is (or was) available.

The ratings for the Neutrik connectors are from their website.

Peter

Yes, it was more of an amusing (?) suggestion. There are a lot of wimpy little connectors rated at 300V that should never see anything more than 24V and even that at limited current.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

I read in sci.electronics.design that Peter A Forbes wrote (in ) about 'Plug and socket suggestion needed', on Sat, 9 Apr 2005:

I didn't mean you, I meant the OP, if he hasn't got tired and gone away.

They are, but you need to understand what they mean, and what they don't mean. The clearance and creepage distances for mains connectors have to take into account that voltage spikes occur, up to 10 times the supply voltage quite often, and occasionally up to 30 times.

I read in sci.electronics.design that Spehro Pefhany wrote (in ) about 'Plug and socket suggestion needed', on Sat, 9 Apr 2005:

That's why I persuaded IEC to make IEC 61984 a standard, not a report. It gives safety requirements for connectors not covered by another specific standard, as, for example, the IEC 60320 connectors are.